Jane Magrell
Recently, I was asked by a racing fan if I knew about a jockey named Jane Magrell, who had recently started riding races at Mountaineer Park. I knew that I had seen her ride previously at Thistledown in Ohio. Coincidentally, a few days later, I learned how to contact Jane, and we arranged for this interview so that she could be included on the site. She is one of the veterans of the sport, having ridden for over 15 years so far, and she continues to ride and win at tracks in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
FOTH: Where were you born?
JM: Waynesburg, Ohio
FOTH: Do you have any brothers or sisters?
JM: Yes, an older brother
Bryan
FOTH: Describe your childhood. Were you a wild child, a tomboy, or did you keep to yourself?
JM: I was a tomboy.
FOTH: When did you first climb aboard a horse? Do you remember any special about the experience?
JM: I was two years old. I don’t
really remember much, but my mom was leading me and when she turned to look
how I was doing I fell off!! But I climbed right back on with a smile.
FOTH: When did u decide to become a jockey?
JM: When asked as a little kid
what I wanted to do when I grew up, I said "I want to be a jockey."
FOTH: How ling did you exercise /gallop horses before you took out your jockey's license?
JM: For about two years
FOTH: When and where was the first race you ever rode? How did you and your horse do?
JM: It was at Waterford Park
(now Mountaineer Park) in 1986; we ran in the middle of the pack it was all
a blur.
FOTH: When and where did you win your first race? Is there anything notable about that day that you'll remember for the rest of your life?
JM: Also at Waterford Park,
April 7th, 1986. Yes it was very thrilling because it was only the second horse
I had ever ridden and we weren't aloud to carry a whip on the first two horses
that we were to ride. Plus, I beat the leading rider at the time by a nose.
FOTH: What does your family think of your decision to become a jockey? Have they been to the track to see you ride?
JM: They love the races. My
mom and dad are my biggest fans, they come all the time.
FOTH: When you first started, what other jockeys gave you advice or helped you?
JM: Everyone was very helpful
especially the ones that had been riding for years. So, my ears and eyes were
wide open to take any constructive criticism.
FOTH: Which jockeys do you admire the most, male or female?
JM: I admire them all we all
work hard and have to have a lot of guts!
FOTH: What tracks have you ridden at during your career? Do you have any favorite tracks?
JM: Thistledown, Detroit Race
Course, Mountaineer Park, Turfway Park, Tampa Bay Downs, Birmingham, Beulah
Park, River Downs, and the Downs at Albuquerque.
FOTH: You've ridden at the Ohio tracks where there are usually split cards. Does the extra time between races at your track change your rountine as far as preparing for the next ride?
JM: Yes, it gives you more time
to clean the muck off between races and it's not as hectic.
FOTH: Do you feel that riding closer to home is an advantage?
JM: Yes, because when you've
been at one place for awhile you learn to know everyone and we are all like
one big family.
FOTH: Of the tracks where you have not raced, which would be the one you'd most want to ride at?
JM: Saratoga. I was there once
to watch the races and it is great because of the beauty and tradition.
FOTH: What was the biggest race you've ever ridden in? What about the biggest race you've won?
JM: Well, I was the first female
rider to ride in the Ohio Derby even though I didn't do any good my fans and
friends loved it! Plus, that same year, I got to ride in the West Virginia Derby.
Also, I got to ride in a girl jockey challenge in Albuquerque, New Mexico; that
was fun. It benefitted the Don Macbeth Fund (a fund established for the benefit
of disabled jockeys). I won my first stakes race at Mountaineer Park; that was
neat because that was the first track I started at and that is where I won my
first stake race.
FOTH: Have you ever had any serious injuries during your career? What has been the worst thing that has happeneded to you in a race?
JM: I have been hurt a lot.
I was supposed to start riding in the fall of 1985 but I got hurt when I broke
3 ribs and my collar bone so that set me back until the spring of 1986. I rode
for 6 months then a horse flipped in the gate and I broke my leg and pulled
my main ligament in my knee. I recovered that then rode for 6 months longer
and I went down leaving the gate and broke my hip which is put back together
with a plate, 4 screws, and a rod. In between all those I probably had over
5 concussions. So all in all I had a lot of injuries but you always look at
it if you recover and go back to riding then you are pretty lucky.
FOTH: Has the need to maintain a low weight been a problem for you at any time in your career? Do you do anything special to make weight for a race?
JM: No, I never really had a
problem but you learn how to maintain your weight with eating right and eating
a little of everything. I don't do anything special to make weight; don't use
the hot box or anything like that.
FOTH: Have you been told by any trainers that they won't ride you because you're a female?
JM: Yes, because they think
that women aren't strong enough but yet we are strong enough to ride the ones
noone else wants to ride. It is the hardest thing to earn is respect in this
business but once you prove yourself trainers look at you in a different way.
FOTH: Do you have any specific goals for your career?
JM: I've reached a lot of my
goals but I feel if you think you;ve reached your goals in this bussiness then
you might lose your desire. So, I keep finding new goals and keep that drive
up. The only way that I'll hang my tack up is if I lose my desire to win!!
FOTH: Is there any advice you would give to someone looking to become a jockey?
JM: First, you have to love horses, second you have to be tough, third you have to want to work hard and have a lot of dedication because this is not a 5 day a week job that is 9-5.
FOTH: Do you have anything else you'd like to say to the fans out there? Thank
you for the interview and best of luck in your racing career!
JM: My fans are great! Keep up the support of all the women riders. But just one thing those fans that tell us to go home and bake cookies because we can't ride-well we can ride and make cookies too!! Ha!